A CTR Reference Guide
Why is my financial institution asking me for identification
and personal information?
and personal information?
Federal law requires financial institutions to report currency (cash or coin) transactions over $10,000 conducted by, or on behalf of, one person, as well as multiple currency transactions that aggregate to be over $10,000 in a single day.
These transactions are reported on Currency Transaction Reports (CTRs). The federal law requiring these reports was passed to safeguard the financial industry from threats posed by money laundering and other financial crime. To comply with this law, financial institutions must obtain personal identification information about the individual conducting the transaction such as a Social Security number as well as a driver’s license or other government issued document. This requirement applies whether the individual conducting the transaction has an account relationship with the institution or not.
There is no general prohibition against handling large amounts of currency and the filing of a CTR is required regardless of the reasons for the currency transaction. The financial institution collects this information in a manner consistent with a customer’s right to financial privacy.